we're what they call thicker than water
by chalantness
Summary: Young Justice: the Next Generation - File #006 - September 19, 2042 - She's suspicious when Jayden asks her if she has lunch plans today.
1. File 1: April 24, 2038

**Note: **This drabble series, which I debuted on my tumblr blog, will focus heavily on my own characters - some of which, you guys may or may not have read about in other stories and drabbles I've written before that are tied to my Family 'verse. You can see the Next Generation List on my profile for reference to the characters and families.**  
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**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~900  
**Characters:** Jayden (age: 18), Maria (age: 17); mentioned: Cory (age: 17), Ellie (age: 15)  
**Prompt:** Cory and Ellie are going on their first date, Jayden's moping about his little sister growing up and Maria is there to comfort him.**  
Photo Inspiration:** link on profile

_**April 24, 2038 – the Saturday before Easter Sunday**  
**Grayson Household, 10:14 AM**  
_

She's still a baby, honestly, and not because he thinks she's immature or something, but because she's his little sister and she's only fifteen and Cory is one of his best friends and it's just _weird_. He's pretty sure there's something in the bro code that says you're not allowed to date your best friend's little sister. And it's not like he doesn't trust Cory or anything, or that he thinks Cory would hurt _anyone_, let alone Ellie, who he's known for as long as he could remember. Cory is one of the nicest guys he knows.

But why does he have to be interested in _Ellie?_

It's not fair.

"Oh, quit pouting."

Jayden casts a glare at Maria where she's mixing food coloring into bowls of cake batter. It's kind of her thing, to make entrees and desserts in celebration of the holidays—_any _holiday. Tomorrow's Easter Sunday, so her cupcakes are going to be pastel-colored, frosted in green and covered in colored sprinkles to resemble Easter egg hunts.

And yes, she had to explain all of this to him after he kept asking why she was coloring the frosting _green_. Whatever, he's a man of math and science. He'll leave all of the creative decorating to her, since she's obviously really good at it.

"I'm allowed to," he mutters stubbornly.

"Jay," she laughs.

"I _am_. He's… They're… She's my little sister!" Maria gives him an amused smile. "Stop that."

"Why don't you help me?" she asks. She sets another cupcake tray already filled with paper liners next to hers on the counter. "Be sure to use different colors."

He rolls his eyes but slides off of the barstool, anyway, and takes his place beside her. He has no idea why her solution to everything is for him to help her in the kitchen, but it always is. Maybe she figures if she has to listen to him complain, she can at least put him to work. And like, it's not that he _doesn't_ like helping her, or something. He knows she works hard to make sure her stuff looks and tastes delicious, which it always does, but it's a lot of fun seeing all of her work in person and trying to do some of it himself so he knows what it's like.

And it's kind of fun, mixing the different colored batter together, because he can imagine what they'll look like when they're cupcakes. You'd think that the colors would blend together and not look at all appetizing, but the colors stay the same even if they're touching, which he figures that makes sense because batter isn't as runny as paint.

Watching Maria when she's working in the kitchen is kind of really amazing, too, because she's totally in love. She gets this sparkle in her eyes and this huge smile on her face and she just looks so _beautiful_. Well, she always looks beautiful, but more so when she's in love with what she's doing.

And like, maybe this is just him, but sometimes he thinks… Well, maybe she…

"Jay?"

He looks at her. "Huh?"

"Feel better?" she asks, and he laughs a little and nods because, yeah, he actually does, just a little bit. Still, he can't help but wonder…

"Maria?" She meets his eyes. "When did my little sister grow up?"

"Jayden…"

He swears he sees her eyes water a little, and he sort of has to sit down again because it's just _sad_ thinking about it. Ellie's only three years younger than him, but he can vaguely remember when she was still a baby. Or, well, technically a _toddler_, but she was—and still is—his baby sister and it's strange to see her like, dressing more girly and wearing makeup and going on dates with a boy who was practically another brother her whole life. Obviously this wasn't the case, but still. It was bad enough having to see guys looking at Maria like _that_, and now it's even worse that it's happening with his own sister. At least he trusts Cory. He can't imagine how he'd react if Ellie liked a guy that he didn't approve of.

Maria walks over to him, stands between his knees and pushes her fingers and rubs them over his scalp like she always does. It's kind of their thing, and it never fails to cheer him up, even just a little bit.

"She's still your little sister, Jay," she says.

And yes, he knows she is. She'll always be, no matter how many fights they've gotten into and _will_ get into in the future. But he's remembering how she looked this morning when she walked into his room and asked if she looked okay, which she did. She looked a little more grown up than he remembers her ever being.

So he shakes his head and mumbles, "She's not so little anymore."

Maria makes this little sound before wrapping her arms around him, and he hugs her back, squeezing a little. "You're going to make me cry," she pouts.

He chuckles, says, "Sorry," and rubs his hand over her back. She pulls away a little so that he's sort of just holding her, and when he meets her eyes he sees that, yeah, there are definitely tears in hers. But she's smiling widely at him, her eyes sparkling, and there it is again, that feeling like she's giving him _that_ smile of hers, like she's in…

"Maria?" a voice calls out, followed by John's footsteps coming down the staircase.

Maria steps out of Jayden's arms, and he could swear that her, "Yeah?" comes out a little breathless, but he can't really hear anything over the pounding in his chest. This is far from the first time that they've almost…

Damn. _Damn_.

If he's starting to fall for Maria then he's in trouble.


	2. File 2: June 5, 2033

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~1,600  
**Characters:** Damian (age: 18), Lian (age: 17), Maria (age: 12)  
**Prompt:** Damian tries to change after Lian accepts a date from a preppy guy, which goes up in flames as soon as she sees Damian.  
**For:** panic-at-the-waltz

**_June 5, 2033 – Children's Day Charity Gala  
Wayne Mansion, 10:36 PM_**

She only really agreed to be his date because they both have to go, anyway, and she has a hard time saying no to people.

Well, no. She has a hard to _rejecting_ people, namely boys. It's kind of pathetic, really, considering that she's not easily intimidated. Her daddy has always, always told her that as protective as he is over her, part of him knows that she'll have no trouble putting guys in their places because she's so much like her mother and, well, that's enough said. And she _is_, most of the time. She has no problem kicking a guy's ass because he got in her way or tried to hurt her friends, or because he has hotheaded personality. That's a given.

But a decent guy that genuinely likes her and just wants to go on a date with her?

She chokes.

Like she said, it's _pathetic_, but she really doesn't want to hurt their feelings. She's talked with her mother about it before, expecting for her to feel a little disappointed or at least surprised, but her mom just got this little smile on her face as she said, "You get that from me, too."

"Get what?" she'd asked.

Her mother just smiled, looked at her father across the room. "You feel for people. You feel _everything_." Then she'd leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Fortunately, you don't have to fight it like I did. It's always better to let yourself feel."

And that was sort of that, because Lian didn't ask for much else. Not because she didn't think her mother would answer her questions, but because she knows that her mother's past wasn't pleasant and she hates seeing her mother remember how her life used to be before she met her daddy and had her. She knows parents always tell their kids how much better everything got once they got married and had kids, but she knows this goes so much deeper for her mom. That's why she doesn't really get why kids don't like their parents being all romantic in public. Well, she _gets_ it, but she doesn't feel the same way. Seeing how in love her parents are is just a reminder of how everyone can have a happy ending.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I just need…"

"Come on," Maria says, linking their arms together, "Let's get you something to eat."

Lian lets Maria lead her through the ballroom without protest, because she honestly thinks she needs something sweet to get distract her from her nerves.

And like, sometimes she forgets that the girl is five years younger than her, because Maria always seems so composed and charming and mature. It's probably nothing to Maria because she's grown up in the spotlight, given that her parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles have all made a name for themselves in not only Gotham but across the globe. Sure, being attached to Bruce Wayne probably helped, but they've all branched out. Maria has people eating out of the palm of her hand and she's humble about it.

And she's only _twelve_. More than once, Lian has wished she could have some of Maria's social graces. It'd definitely help with her problem of not being able to let a guy down smoothly, and it'd make her life a lot easier.

Maria hands her a small plate with chocolate-covered strawberries, smiles and sips her sparkling cider as Lian munches on them.

And Lian's practically finished the whole plate when Maria asks, "What is _up_ with him tonight?" She sounds amused, and Lian follows the girl's eyes across the ballroom and onto…

Damian.

Lian swallows, hard.

Damian's talking with another guy about his age and three girls, all of them laughing about something, which is kind of bizarre already. It's not that Damian doesn't laugh, but she can tell that he's genuinely enjoying himself. Usually he despises these events and humors himself by being patronizing and satirical and seeing if anyone catches on.

(No one usually does.)

"My uncle's being incredibly friendly," Maria says with a laugh. "It's a little freaky."

But honestly, Lian's thinking a different thing entirely as she's watching Damian reach over and touch a girl's arm just above her elbow, giving her a smile as he's saying something to her. She really, really hates the way she feels her throat tightening, just a little. It's stupid, really.

"Hey," Maria says, frowning at her in concern because Lian sort of almost slammed her plate onto the nearest table. "Is everything okay?"

"Is anyone upstairs? I think I need some air …"

"Yeah, go ahead."

She doesn't try staying to see if the girl has any more questions, and she thinks that she catches Damian's eyes as she's heading for the doors, but she could just be imagining it.

She finds the sitting room just off of the ballroom and sinks into one of the leather chairs, exhaling breathily. She contemplated trying to find her parents on her way out to see if they wanted to leave already, but it's still early in the night and it'd just alarm them if she asked and she doesn't want them to ask her about it.

It's just petty stuff, really. She just… She'd noticed long before Maria pointed it out to her how Damian's been acting all night, and she couldn't help but feel _hurt_, which is silly. She and Damian have been friends forever, and never once has she seen him act like he did tonight, like he's suddenly interested in all of these girls giving him attention. It should be a good thing that he's being open and not so critical and exclusive. But she can't help but think this has everything to do with the fact that he'll be a sophomore in college in the fall and…

"Okay," someone says, and she looks up to see Damian shutting the door to the sitting room behind him.

Of course.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I want to know what's up." He sits on the edge of the table so that he's right in front of her. "You've been weird all night."

"_I've_ been weird?" she repeats in a whisper, because she's honestly afraid that she'll end up shouting if her voice gets any louder. "You know, I'm surprised you even noticed considering how much attention you've been giving all of your friends tonight."

"What? Lian—"

"Don't," she breathes. "I didn't mean… I don't want to fight."

"I didn't realize there was anything to be fighting about," he says kind of harshly, but she doesn't even flinch. He's better about it now, but he'll still get that tone when he's mad. "If you're talking about the girls, then I don't know why you're mad. You and I both know that I _have_ to pretend to be interested in them because it's what everyone expects."

"You weren't pretending."

"I was," he argues. "And what does it matter? Isn't that what you want?" She looks at him. "That's why you came here with that guy, right?"

"Seth?" Damian stiffens, just a little, but more than enough for her to notice. "You think I like Seth?"

"It's not a terrible assumption since you guys came here on a date," he mutters. "And he's just like every other guy you agree to go out with. You always go for the cliché guys, which I never really understood because I'm pretty sure they usually bore you. But I guess that assumption is wrong since you continue to say yes to them."

"I say yes because I don't have you to keep them away," she says, and he meets her eyes. "I don't go out with them because I _want_ to. But you know how I am. I can't—"

"You can't say no." He shakes his head. "Why?"

"Damian—"

"You don't like them, right? And you're not interested in them? So why say yes?"

"Because I might as well," she almost shouts. "You're already in college and I'm still a senior and… How am I supposed to know if one of them may actually be right for me if I've only ever been interested in is the same person my whole life someone who's moved on and left me to wonder if I wasted my time?"

"Moved on," he repeats. Her cheeks are warm and wet with tears, and she honestly didn't even notice when she started crying. "You thought I…"

She shrugs her shoulders. "What was I supposed to think? You left for college before we had a chance to talk about everything. I mean," she says, bringing her hand up to wipe at her cheeks, "I know we've kept in touch, but it's not the same. I thought maybe you'd—"

But he cuts her off by kissing her.

She whimpers a little and grasps the front of his shirt. His brings a hand up to rest against her neck, smoothing his thumb over her jawline, and she lets out this little noise as he deepens the kiss. _God_, she misses this, even though she's pretty sure he's never kissed her like this before, like he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. She may just let him.

But still, they part for air a few seconds later and she's panting unevenly, trying to catch a breath.

"So, are we…"

"Yeah," she breathes, because honestly, the intensity of that kiss was enough for their fight just seconds ago to feel completely insignificant now.

"Good," he says, setting his other hand over her hip.

They should probably talk to set everything straight, but she doesn't really see a need to do it right now. So she asks, "You locked the door, right?" and knows that they're on the same page when he sets a knee between hers, lowers her against the chair and kisses her again.


	3. File 3: October 2, 2042

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~800  
**Characters:** Rhea (age: 14), Leo (age: 16), mentioned: Maria (age: 21), Jayden (age: 23)  
**Photo Inspiration:** link on profile

**_October 2, 2042 – Two Days before the Engagement Party  
Gotham City Downtown Shopping District, 11:22 AM_**

Sometimes he wonders if Rhea has absolutely no stage fright. It's a weird thing to wonder, he knows, but he's not really sure what to call it. For as long as he's known Rhea (which is basically her whole life), she's never had trouble being around people, even if they're absolute strangers. Usually you show _some_ healthy anxiety or skepticism, right?

Obviously that's not the case for Rhea.

They haven't once walked into a store or passed one without being stopped because someone recognized Rhea. And like, it'd be different if it were _just_ Gotham, because that's her hometown, or if it were just a brief, casual conversation, though some of them were. But it happens _wherever_ they go, and sometimes she gets stopped for autographs or something crazy like that. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, the fact that Rhea's family is internationally famous and that that's put her in the spotlight since she was born, but he really _isn't_.

"Who was that?" Leo asks after the lady was gone. She basically almost attacked Rhea with a hug before they could set a foot inside Forever 21.

"Someone who works for my grandmother's wildlife preservation organization," she answers. "She just wanted to see if Nana kept up with all of her filing dates. You know how much she hates all of the paperwork."

"Right," he laughs.

She shrugs and sips her blueberry-banana smoothie, licking her lips after she's swallows. "So, did you think of anything yet?"

"No," he groans. "You've got to help me here, Ree. What would your sister want?"

"Nothing." He scowls. "She _wouldn't_. You know Maria. She'll be happy that you even thought of her at all."

"Well, great. Thank your sister for being like, the nicest person on the planet and making it impossible for me to buy her and Jayden an engagement gift." Rhea giggles and takes another sip of her smoothie. "I didn't even know that you buy a present for an engagement. I thought it was just for the actual wedding?"

"The engagement party is more of an announcement thing," she explains. "But Maria's birthday is in a week, so that's why everyone's bringing her presents."

"Ah," he says. "See, that makes a lot more sense."

"I _told_ you all of that yesterday! But you never listen to me."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He laughs as she shoves his shoulder, _hard_. He's kind of used to it by now, because he's always messing with Rhea and her first reaction is to hit him, or at least push him really hard when they're out in public. It looks playful and harmless to anyone who could be watching (she told him so), and like, obviously he teases her the most when they're out.

Of course, it makes everyone—_everyone_—think that they're together since they always manage to make it into a small article or magazine section of how Stars Are Just Like Us whenever he hangs out with Rhea. He doesn't really mind it, and maybe he's thought about it, once or twice, what it's like to look at Rhea as a girl he could potentially date. She's sweet and charming and smart and a lot of fun and never leaves her house without a camera around her neck, which is kind of adorable, really, because she'll get excited suddenly and stop him to take a picture of something because she just _had_ to. It's kind of silly to think it like this, but she's always at her prettiest when she's got a camera in her hand.

Not that he's going to tell her _any_ of this.

"What do you think?"

He reaches for a necklace amongst a freaking _wall_ of them. The pendant is shaped like a bird with its wings spread out and kind of looks like her Nightwing emblem, but then he sips his smoothie and frowns, thinking that maybe that might be a little too obvious. Of course, there's always…

He hears the shutter go off and turns to see Rhea's face behind her camera, the lens pointed right at him. She twists the lens a little, zooming.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a laugh.

"Sorry, you get this little…" She shifts her camera into one hand and reaches over, running her thumb between his eyebrows. "You get this wrinkle when you're concentrating."

He arches an eyebrow in amusement. "And you just had to take a picture of it?"

She giggles and adds, "Well, that, and you picking out jewelry."

He rolls his eyes.

She grins, drapes the strap of her camera back around her neck and grabs her smoothie where she set it down on a shelf of makeup. "And if you're having trouble, buy something _you_ think is cool," she suggests. "Chances are, she'll probably find it really neat."

"She'll find backpacking neat?"

"Sure," Rhea laughs. "But think a little beyond that. Get her something that resembles some of the places you've been. I mean, your pictures weren't as great as they _could_ be…" He rolls his eyes again and she stifles another giggle. "I'm teasing. But the scenery you get when you're backpacking? It's really pretty. Think of that."

And he smiles because, yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. "What would I do without you?" he asks, ruffling her hair, and she sticks her tongue at him.


	4. File 4: August 27, 2038

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~1,400  
**Characters:** Maria (age: 17), Ellie (age: 15), Sienna (age: 17), Jayden (age: 19), mentioned: Jack Walker (age: 19)  
**Prompt:** Maria loses her virginity to her boyfriend after finding out that Jayden lost his a while ago. Jayden isn't particularly happy about this.

**_August 24, 2038 – Three Days before John's Birthday Party  
Presidential Suite of the Walker Casino Hotel in Gotham City, 3:13 AM_**

Sometimes she has a hard time sleeping.

Her father tells her that she probably gets that from him, because if something's bothering him enough, he can't get any rest. She remembers, sometimes, she'd wake up in the middle of the night because it was storming outside and she got startled, and her door would be open a little more than it usually is because her dad came to check on her while she was sleeping. Then she'd leave her room and find him in the den, and she'd sit herself beside him on the couch underneath the blanket and they'd both end up falling asleep there.

Obviously she didn't know what he'd been so worried about back then. She just knew that sometimes her daddy couldn't go to sleep, and maybe her getting up and sitting with him set _her_ up for having the same problem. Not that she'd ever go back and change those nights, but still.

She doesn't really know what's bothering her _tonight_, though.

Well, no. She thinks she knows exactly what's bothering her right now.

She just lost her virginity.

Granted, it was with her boyfriend, who she's been with for almost a year now, so she doesn't see why…

She doesn't feel _guilty_ about last night at all. It's what she wanted, and it's not like she has any experience to compare it with (obviously) but it felt good. Jack was sweet and kind of spoiled her, actually, because they were in the presidential suite of his family's casino hotel and it's amazing. She doesn't really know what the problem is because she knows she's fortunate to have her first time go as smoothly as it did. Most people don't get to have things go as they expected, so she shouldn't really be complaining about any of this. She _isn't_.

So she doesn't know why she _can't sleep_.

**_August 27, 2038 – John's 12th Birthday Party  
Grayson Household, 4:36 PM_**

"You did _what?_"

"Shush," Maria hisses, glancing around. Everyone seems to be outside setting up, or busy running around the house to get everything ready, so no one seems to be paying much attention to them in the kitchen. But still, she knows how her family is and, more importantly, her grandpa personally installed their home security system.

There's no such thing as being too careful.

"I just can't believe you actually had sex with _Jack_," Sienna whispers.

Maria rolls her eyes, turning back to her deviled eggs. "He's my boyfriend. Who did you expect I'd have it with?"

"I'd expected you to wait."

"Excuse me?"

"Okay, hold on," Ellie says, standing between Maria and Sienna before either of them can say anything else. "Maria, I think what she means is that we didn't know you and Jack were really that serious. You two were having all sorts of problems just last month, right?"

"That was because my parents don't trust him."

"And don't you think that means something?" Sienna asks. "I mean, I know your dad's protective and everything, but haven't you _always_ trusted his judgment?"

Maria presses her lips together. Ellie lets out a sigh, plopping herself onto the barstool as she asks, "What's my brother going to think?"

"Why would Jayden have a problem with me and Jack having sex?" Maria asks, jamming the tip of her knife into the cutting board once she's cut the last hard-boiled egg in half. "It's not like he's a virgin anymore, either. And he was younger than I am right now when he first had sex, so I think has the right to be upset about me not waiting until I'm older."

Ellie and Sienna exchange looks.

"I don't think that's why he'd be upset," Sienna says. Maria just ignores her.

**_August 27, 2038 – John's 12th Birthday Party  
Grayson Household, 10:47 PM_**

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks, grasping her elbow before she can walk away, and she looks up at Jayden to give him a slight glare. After all, it's not like she needs to create a scene at her brother's birthday party over something so stupid, and Jayden must think this, too, because he's not acting as pissed off as he probably is.

"Can't this wait?" She glances around. No one _seems_ to be paying attention, but she knows how they all are. Someone's probably eavesdropping, if not all of them.

"Let's go somewhere else."

He pulls her towards the house before she can protest.

There are people in the kitchen when they make it inside, and Jayden tugs her into the hallway, up the stairs and into her room. She yanks her elbow from his grasp as soon as he's gotten her door shut, glares at him and crosses her arms over her chest. She hates that she feels like crying right now.

"You had sex with _Jack_," he begins, voice low like it is when he's trying not to yell, "and I find out from _Ellie?_"

"I don't know why you get to be upset, because it's not like you told me on your own," she reminds. "I found out _last month_ that you lost your virginity over a _year _ago."

"Because I wasn't thinking!" he argues. "I regretted it. I told you how I wished I'd listen to everyone when they were telling me how they didn't trust Katrina. She didn't care about me and it's the same with Jack. And you can't get mad at me for saying that because you know I never trusted him. He's just so… so… _god_, I can't believe you slept with him!"

"He's my _boyfriend_, Jayden!"

"That doesn't mean anything. He doesn't love you and you deserved better for your first time. You deserve better than _him_."

She blinks, causing a tear to roll down her cheek.

His anger seems to dissolve a little when he sees that she's crying. He lets out a sigh, pushes his fingers through his hair as she wipes at her eyes with the heel of her hand. Then he crosses the room and stands in front of her, brings his hands up to wipe away her tears.

"You avoided me all day, even before I found out," he says softly.

"I was afraid," she whispers. She brings her hands up to cover her face, shaking her head a little. "I made a mistake. Sleeping with him was a mistake, and I knew it and I still did it, anyway. I did it because I was so _mad_ at you and I couldn't even figure out why until I was awake in that hotel room in the middle of the night. I was so scared of how you'd react and I was so mad at myself for doing it with Jack because I knew it should've been with someone I love. I slept with Jack when it should've been you and I was so scared that—"

"What?"

She exhales shakily. She can't believe she just said that. Oh, _god_, she can't believe she just said that.

He takes her hands in his and pulls them from her face so that she's looking right at him. "You love me," he says, and it's a statement rather than a question. She hiccups. "And it took sleeping with Jack for you to realize this?"

"My dad says I get my stubbornness from my mom." He chuckles faintly. "Jayden—"

"I love _you_," he interrupts. "And as the daughter and granddaughter of some of the world's greatest detectives, I can't believe you never figured that out for yourself."

She laughs. She feels kind of crazy, actually, holding onto his arm for support as she laughs, a few more tears falling down her cheeks, and she didn't even realize how much had been weighing on her mind until she starts feeling so _relieved _to get it all out. Jayden tucks his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up so that she's looking at him again. She smiles.

"I love you," she says.

He sweeps her bangs across her face, tucking them behind her ear. "I love you, too," he says back, and she closes her eyes when he presses his lips to hers.

**_August 28, 2038 – the morning after John's 12th Birthday Party  
Grayson Household, 2:14 AM_**

She falls asleep on the carpeted floor of their den with all of the other kids, because this is where they all gathered when it started getting late and they ended up passing out, like when they were younger and pretended to be asleep so they could stay at each other's houses longer. Her head is resting against Jayden's bicep like a pillow, his arm draped over her waist, and she only wakes up once in the middle of the night, when the last of their family and friends have left and her parents come in to drape blankets over everyone.

She thinks (knows) that her father's smiling at her, and she smiles sleepily back at him, curls herself against Jayden a little more and falls back asleep within seconds.


	5. File 5: September 25, 2041

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~1,400  
**Characters:** Shay (age: 17), John (age: 16), Raquel (age: 46), mentioned: Maria (age: 20), Sienna (age: 20)**  
Photo Inspiration:** link on profile

**_September 25, 2041 – Fifteen Days before Maria's 21st Birthday  
Durham Household, 4:16 PM_**

It'd be stranger that he's visiting them in an _entirely different state_ and on a week night if, you know, he didn't have access to the zeta tubes. They're kind of the coolest things ever because you can basically go anywhere in the world within seconds so long as there's a zeta tube in the area, and it basically makes the world a lot smaller. And it kind of cuts out all of the long distance relationship drama, which is pretty awesome, too, since his girlfriend lives across the country from him yet it only takes two minutes to get from his house to hers.

And it's not like he sees her _every day_, because they're not one of _those_ couples. They text and call pretty often, but they're both busy with other things and if he doesn't get a call from her a day or two in a row, it's not that big of a deal. He's not going to jump to conclusions or anything.

Normally he wouldn't visit like this on a Thursday night (he has to be back for dinner in less than an hour), but Shay asked him to come.

So here he is.

"Hi, John," her mother, Raquel, greets him at the front door.

"Hey, Auntie Raquel," he greets back, leaning in for a hug, then stepping inside when she moves to let him in. "Did you get off work early today or something?"

"I took the day off because I had a few appointments and figured I might as well pack as many errands into one day as I can," she explains with a laugh. "But I thought Thursday nights were your editing nights? Isn't it almost dinnertime back in Gotham?"

"I got stuff done, but then Shay asked me to come." He shrugs. "Nothing bad happened, right? She didn't sound urgent on the phone, but…"

"No, nothing's happened. She's just been in her studio ever since she got home." Raquel smiles, and he follows her into the kitchen as she adds, "She probably just wants you to help her. You know you're always the first person she goes to when she's starting or finishing a new project. Hey, can you bring this up with you? You can have some, too."

Raquel hands him a plate of crackers with a small dish of spinach dip in the middle. "Thanks, Auntie, but I shouldn't spoil my appetite for dinner or Rhea will eat my dessert," he says. She laughs. "I'll bring this up to her, though."

"Thanks, sweetie," Raquel says, leaning over to kiss his cheek before he climbs the staircase.

Shay's studio is the door on the right at the very end of the hallway, because it's right next to her bedroom and it's the room that gets the most natural light because it has a lot of windows. It's also got a pretty good view of the beach on one side and then the suburbs on the other, and he knows that that's good for Shay because when she's tired or having an artistic block, she'll just sit down at one of the window seats and watch for a little to clear her head. He can hear her through the door kind of blasting _Wounded Rhymes_, her favorite album to listen to when she's painting or sketching.

He walks in without knocking (she wouldn't hear it, anyway) finds Shay with her back turned to him, facing her canvas.

Her hair is pulled into this messy bun atop her head, blue and white and black paint streaked across her forearms and hands. She's got an easel in her right hand and her paintbrush in her left, and she's wearing her "studio outfit" (what she calls the flannel and faded denim shorts she always wears because they're stained with paint and charcoal beyond saving).

Honestly, there's nothing more beautiful than Shay when she's in the middle of a project.

He slips inside, balancing the plate of crackers and dip in one hand as he sneaks up behind her, slides his hand around her waist into the front pocket of her shorts, laughing when she jumps back against his chest, startled.

"Stop doing that!" she laughs, bumping her hip against his.

"You love it when I do that," he corrects, kissing her cheek, and she rolls her eyes. That's basically her agreeing. "Spinach dip?" he offers.

"That sounds amazing right now." He moves his hand so she can see the plate, laughing at the way her eyes light up. He can't blame her, though. Other than Maria and maybe their Auntie Megan, her mother is one of the best cooks he knows. "Let me wash my hands," she says.

"I'll feed you," he tells her, hooking his ankle around the nearby stool, dragging it closer to the easel so he can set the plate down. He knows that she doesn't like to clean up when she's in the middle of working, because it's like an unnecessary pause that disrupts her creative process. He's the same way when editing videos, so he totally understands.

"You're the best." She kisses his lips and he grins, kissing her back.

"So," he says, picking up a cracker and smearing spinach dip onto it with a knife, "Not that I don't love seeing you, but why'd you want me to come over tonight?"

"For this," she answers, nodding to the canvas on her easel. It's a white canvas, so she didn't paint on a base coat before she started painting, and she's got blue and white smeared onto it in swirls so that the white mixes in with the blue differently across the canvas, making the blue lighter in some areas and darker in others. It flows from left to right, and either she wasn't finished or she purposely left it like this, but the paint swirls sort of just end a few inches from the left side, leaving the rest of the white canvas visible and blank.

"Is this for my sister?" The party is in two weeks and it'll be for Maria's and Sienna's twenty-first birthdays. Shay told him over the summer that was thinking about painting something for them since twenty-one is supposed to be a big age to celebrate and it'd make the gifts more special if she made them herself.

Shay nods. "I wasn't sure how to finish it, though. I wanted to do something with a bird silhouette, since that's Maria's thing, but I didn't want to… I was thinking maybe the entire left side should be black and then the silhouette could be white."

"That'd look awesome," he says, meaning it. "The black will be a nice contrast."

"That's what I was thinking, too. It'd definitely be a lot more dramatic than just black silhouettes on white."

"So what's the problem?"

She frowns. "I should've painted the base black." She tilts her head a little, a few strands of hair falling from her clip. "Unless I…" She dips her paintbrush into the black paint on her easel and swirls the bristles over the edge of a blue swirl where it meets the white canvas. "I could go over just this side and then blend the blue and white in the middle again."

"Sounds doable," he agrees. "See? You didn't need me here to come up with a solution."

She laughs, shakes her head a little before looking up at him. "Having you with me always makes me think better," she says, and okay, he kind of _has_ to kiss her after that. He leans over and presses their lips together. When they pull apart, she asks, "Do you have to get home soon?"

"I've got time."

He feeds her the cracker before she can apologize for bothering him like he knows she will, and when she tries to pout, he laughs because she's got her mouth kind of full and she looks a little ridiculous but mostly adorable right now. She rolls her eyes as she chews and then swallows, but she's smiling, too, so obviously she's not really mad. Then he pulls up his stool – the one she painted crimson (his favorite color) and only lets him sit on whenever he's in there – and sits down, grabs another cracker to smear on spinach dip for her.

He ends up staying there long enough for her to finish Maria's painting and for it to be dinnertime on this side of the country and almost midnight where he lives, so Raquel sends him home with dinner and a few of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies she made.

He kind of gets lectured when he's back home, but it's not like he wouldn't do it again if it meant he got to spend the afternoon with Shay in her studio.

It was worth it.


	6. File 6: September 19, 2042

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~1,400  
**Characters:** Jayden (age: 23), Ellie (age: 21), Cass (age: 15)**  
Photo Inspiration:** link on profile

**_September 19, 2042 – Nine Days before "The Day"  
Central City Mall, 11:58 AM_**

She's suspicious when Jayden asks her if she has lunch plans today, and then even more so when she meets him in the greeting card section at Target (Jayden likes to look at the cards when he's waiting, so it's his default meet-up spot) and sees that Cass is with him.

It's not like they're the kind of siblings that don't ever hang out with each other just because, without birthdays or anniversaries to celebrate. She sees them basically every week, or at least every other week for their biweekly Sunday night family dinners that's been a tradition since Jayden first went off for college and their parents were starting to feel the beginnings of an empty nest syndrome (even though they had two other daughters still in the house at the time). And she and Jayden are both only a twenty-minute drive away.

Their parents are crazy. She loves them for it, and for being so supportive even though they hate to see their kids leaving the house.

But they're seriously crazy.

Anyway, she comes up from behind and smacks Jayden on the back of his head as she always does, ignoring the people that turn to look at them when he snaps at her to cut that out. Cass just laughs and tucks a card back into its slot.

"So, what's this all about?" Ellie asks, placing a hand on her hip. "Why have you summoned us here?"

"Technically, I picked up Cass," he points out.

"Without any warning, too," Cass adds, shaking her head. "He just let himself in and told me we were going. Mom and Dad weren't even home. Honestly, what if I'd had plans?"

"You never do anything on Sunday." Cass rolls her eyes. "And can't a guy just take his sisters out for the day without his motives being questioned?"

"When you say it like that, it basically just proves you have an ulterior motive for bringing us here." Jayden scowls, muttering under his breath about how he ended up with the most impossible sisters, ever. Cass meets Ellie's eyes, arching an eyebrow. "You might as well just tell us. We already know something's up."

"Then can you pretend to be like, oblivious or something for a bit? I'm not prepared yet…"

"You're unbelievable."

"Fine," Cass agrees. "Buy me frozen yogurt and I'll play along."

"It'll spoil your appetite," Ellie interrupts before Jayden can do something stupid and agree. "He buys us lunch first _like he already offered_, and then he can pay for yogurt."

"You guys are so expensive," Jayden complains.

"Love you, too," Ellie says, patting his cheek, and Cass just laughs again.

They have lunch at the Thai barbecue restaurant inside the mall by the food court, which is only their favorite place for Thai food because they make the best Thai iced tea. Everywhere else makes it too watery or too bitter, and like, they know it's not _that_ big of a deal if the food's still good, but they're picky when it comes to their meals.

Anyway, they make casual conversation about school and work, and it's all pretty normal stuff until Cass mentions something about their mother.

And, well, Ellie still gets a little nervous whenever Cass talks about their mother.

They're a lot better _now_, thankfully, but they'd been going through a really, really rough patch in their relationship when Ellie was a senior and getting ready to leave for college. Cass would always give their mother attitude and such a hard time about everything and none of them really knew why. Ellie almost decided to go to community college so she could stay home and try to prevent things from getting any worse. Then Artemis brought this up to Cass in the middle of one of their fights, and then Cass snapped and there were tears and basically Cass said, in so many words, that she hated their mother for trying to compare her two daughters.

That was never, _ever_ the case, but Cass felt that way and didn't tell anyone, not even Thomas, who she tells _everything_ to. It was basically the most emotional night for all of them and they were up until 4:00 in the morning trying to talk things out.

And even though that was about three years ago, she and Jayden still talk about it sometimes when they're alone, and they both admit that they're still worried about it. Jayden doesn't panic every single time Cass implies the slightest irritation with their mother like Ellie will, or if he does, he's just a lot better at hiding it than Ellie.

And she's kind of panicking a little bit right now, because maybe _that's_ why Jayden called them out today. Maybe Cass is starting to resent their mother again.

"How _is _Mom, by the way?" Ellie asks casually.

Cass shrugs her shoulder. "She's the same as always, I guess. She was showing me this awesome move the other day, though, where you…"

Ellie smiles as Cass goes into detail, feeling relieved. Then she glances at Jayden, who's drinking the last of his Thai iced tea while listening to Cass, and then Ellie's frowning again. So why _did_ Jayden bring them both out today?

Then, after Jayden's paid for the check on his debit card, Jayden gets up, drops a few dollars onto the table and tells them to hurry up when they don't follow him out of the restaurant right away. They head straight to the frozen yogurt place that's downstairs by Target, and once Jayden's paid for the both of them again, they find a table to sit down at.

"Okay," Ellie says, pointing her spoon at Jayden, "Tell us what's going on."

"Seriously, Jay," Cass agrees. "You paid for us and _you_ didn't even get your own frozen yogurt. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_," Jayden laughs, and then adds, "Actually, everything's been perfect. I just need a favor from you two."

"Which is?" Cass prompts.

"Okay, first of all, I totally mean it when I say that you can't tell anyone. Okay? You can't tell _anyone_." He meets both of their eyes, giving him the hard stare that he only gives when he's being dead serious. "And I trust you two, obviously, or else I wouldn't have come to you. But you guys _cannot_ lose this, or mess with me by pretending to lose this, or—"

"Lose what?" Ellie asks. "What are you giving us to hold onto?"

"I'm technically giving it to Cass, because it'll probably be safest at the house," he corrects, adding, "No offense to your roommates, Ellie."

"Just show us!" Cass snaps impatiently.

Jayden glances around, which kind of annoys Ellie a little bit because, honestly, who's going to care about them talking? It's not like he's handling something illegal. Sure, he's dating Maria and has been for a while, so he's actually in the media a lot because they're together and Maria's been in the spotlight since she was in diapers and…

Then Jayden lifts his jacket, pulling out something just enough for the two of them to see—a blue box. It's a small, light blue box with a white ribbon.

Or rather, it's a small, _Tiffany blue_ box with a white ribbon.

_Oh god._

Cass grabs Ellie's arm, squeezing it like she does when she's excited. "Holy crap," Ellie breathes, because if she talks any louder, she'll be screaming. "You're proposing?"

Jayden gets that stupid smile on his face that actually makes him look kind of adorable, and Ellie laughs because, holy crap_—Jayden's_ _proposing to Maria_. Like, they all knew (or were at least really, really hoping) that those two would end up together. And when they did get together, then they were all anxiously awaiting the day they get married and all that stuff.

But somehow it's just that much more realistic with Jayden actually telling them that it's going to happen.

"Jayden," Ellie exclaims, and Cass sort of screams a little, and people are staring at them now, but whatever. This is _huge_. Ellie comes around the table to hug Jayden at the same time that Cass does, and Jayden brings them in closer and gives them a hard squeeze.

"Congratulations," Cass says giddily. "But why keep it at our house?"

"I'll bet it's because he's afraid Maria will find it if he hides it at their apartment," Ellie guesses.

Jayden grins. "It's not like I think she'd go looking for it or anything, but, come on, you know she would. She's a _Grayson_."

"And pretty soon she'll be a _West_," Ellie giggles, squeezing her arm around Jayden again as he shushes her, glancing around. Whatever, they're in the clear right now and she wants to be excited that her brother is _getting engaged_. She may or may not be tearing up just a little bit. "You'll be together forever," she sighs.

"That's the idea," Jayden says, and the three of them just laugh.


End file.
